In an office like ours, pop culture references come up pretty frequently, and it’s always to surprising to see what a difference even a few years in age can make between someone knowing exactly what you’re talking about, and giving you a blank, slightly pitying stare. The chasm is even greater between kids who were born 18 years ago and those of us who are old enough to have been their babysitters. The latest installment of “The Mindset List,” an annual compilation of the cultural touchstones of incoming freshmen at Wisconsin’s Beloit College, really drives this point home. We’ve pulled out some of the most interesting bits from this year’s findings after the jump.
1. Ferris Bueller and Sloane Peterson could be their parents.
2. Andre the Giant, River Phoenix, Frank Zappa, Arthur Ashe and the Commodore 64 have always been dead.
3. O.J. Simpson has always been looking for the killers of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
4. Women have never been too old to have children.
5. “Yadda, yadda, yadda” has always come in handy to make long stories short.
6. Video games have always had ratings.
7. The Rocky Horror Picture Show has always been available on TV.
8. Women have always been kissing women on television.
9. Their older siblings have told them about the days when Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera were Mouseketeers.
10. Music has always been available via free downloads.
[via GOOD]